Fig 4.

Asarones are active constituents of Rhizoma Acori tatarinowii for enhancing neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation. (A) Extraction and fractionation scheme of the Rhizoma Acori Tatarinowii. (B) Percentage of EdU⁺ cells in the embryonic neural precursor culture treated with the three fractions in the reduced growth factor medium (1 ng mL⁻¹ EGF and 1 ng mL⁻¹ bFGF). (C) Percentage of EdU⁺ embryonic neural precursors treated with α-asarone, β-asarone, and two analogues in ATE. (D) Percentage of EdU⁺ cells in the adult hippocampal NPC cultures treated with or without asarones. (E) Representative images of EdU⁺ (red) staining and DAPI (blue) counterstain in adult hippocampal NPC cultures treated with DMSO (Ctrl), 1 μm α-asarone, or 1 μm β-asarone. (F) Percentage of EdU⁺ cells in the adult hippocampal NPC culture treated with or without asarones in the absence of growth factors. (G) Representative images of EdU⁺ (red) staining and DAPI (blue) counterstain in adult hippocampal NPC cultures treated with DMSO (Ctrl), 1 μm α-asarone, or 1 μm β-asarone in the absence of growth factors. Quantifications are presented as mean ± SEM of eight independent experiments; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Fisher’s protected least significant difference test; scale bars, 100 μm.